What Flys

[Manic Moore]

 

I need help from some of you fly fisherman (or ladies)

 

I am putting together a few bits and pieces for the odd lake fly fishing trip in the summer. I have a rod now plus a cheap reel and wieght forward line. The problem I have now is how do I choose maybe a dozen or so different flys that will cover the majority of options on your average trout lake.

I realise it is probably the $64,000 question and won't cover every eventuality but would appreciate a few tips.

 

Regards

 

 

Gordon

[Newboy]

I'm not a fly fisherman, but having watched many fly fishing program, one thing that seems to be mentioned commonly is that the fly imitates the food (be it flies or larves) is feeding on at the time of the year. For example mayfly may work in early summer, but probably won't work so well later on. Your tackle shop should be able to help you with the sort of fly for the time of the year.

[Swainiac]

Gordon, fly fishing Lakes, is totally different to fly fishing rivers or streams, in that generally, the lures used imitate fish/small fry. A good all rounder is the "Appetizer" which is a white lure, with either orange or red wound into the body. Another good lure is a dark lure which immitates a minnow, forgot the name sorry!! Use a dropper a few feet above the lure on the point, which normally comprises of a small nymph, like an olive or a brighter type, maybe a fluero green. As you retrieve closer to the boat/bank, and lift the lure, a take can come on the dropper as it reaches the surface, immitating a hatch.

 

Large lures like dog nobblers work well if the water is very coloured..........al horses for courses. On a chalk stream, like where we fished for pike, the purist approach is used, Dry fly......that is a lure floated on the surface with a floating line, and cast upstream, then re-cast as the lure comes in line with you along the river. Downstream fishing is a no no on these type of fisheries. If you are fishing a lake in the late afternoon or evening, the likelihood of a "Hatch" increases, as the water temp. is at it highest, so move from a wet fly or lure to a dry fly or emerger.

 

The dry fly is dressed with a water reppelant, and water reppeling materials like deer hair are used in the tying. A waterproof dressing is sprayed onto the fly to assist floating. When you are ready to put a lsit together, give me a nudge, and I'll get the flies from the supplier I use, with a healthy 50% discount....so you can get twice as many to lose in the bankside vegetation when learning to cast.....

 

Hope this helps, Rich

[Adam F]

Gordon - Rich's advice is spot on.

 

However, most trout lakes only allow a single fly, so a dropper cant be used.

 

As you saw on Friday I have 3 boxes - one with 'lures' colourful flashy flies that appeal to the instinct of stocked fish in lakes - not the purist option, but hey, you gotta use what will catch!

 

The other has natural wet flies - ie. nymphs - these are hugely succesful even on stocked waters - they basically imitate hatched larve from the bottom of the stream / lake.

 

And my dry fly box - bascially the opposite of the nymph box. Flying hatched larve that are trapped in the surface film - all natural patterns.

 

Bottom line is - dont get hooked up on names and patterns. Get a few dozen lures, reds, whites, oranges etc. Get another handful of nymphs - hares ear and pheasent tails are the names to look for - they most likey will have a gold head to enable them to sink.

 

And dont worry about dries for the moment. If you want a hand picking a selection let me know.

 

Adam

[alun j.]

Gordon,

 

All good advice [as always on this site ! ]

 

As a good starting point , for stocked rainbows in a pond, I've often found an ORANGE fly gets many takes; something like a 'whisky' fly. Retieved in short pulls and fished a lot deeper in the Spring , when the water is colder.

 

If fish are showing, a nymph can work well, fished very slowly.

 

See you tomorrow ......... if we can find the place !!

 

Alun.

[duncan]

Another good lure is a dark lure which immitates a minnow, forgot the name sorry!!

 

black zonka?

[Paul J]

A black and green montana with a gold bead head is a good all rounder

 

Black and orange also good

 

are you confused yet?

Good luck

 

Cheers

 

Paul

[Gnasher]

Gordon,

 

If your fishing the lakes, then use the fly gear, 8lb florocarbon leader, size 10 hook. Get a dog mixer, cut a tiny grove in it with a hacksaw and super glue it to the shank of the hook. It its a flat calm, get the polaroids on and go looking for carp. Loose feed some mixers, get them feeding and away you go. Just leave some space for the back cast.

Dom was hammering double figure carp on fly gear a couple of seasons ago.

Any help with suitable carp venues that the fly gear can be used let me know.

 

If you want to target big rudd, pick a nice summer evening, scatter the surface with tiny pond pellets and drop a very small dark dry fly in amongst a mass of feeding rudd. Something presented on a size 16 would do the trick, and look to use a 3lb tippet (max).

 

Dan

 

PS

 

Oh, make sure you have plenty of backing if your after decent carp, they can strip the 30m of fly line in no time

[Paul J]

Dan,

 

decent carp, they can strip the 30m of fly line in no time

 

any chance of a demo sometime mate?

 

Paul J

[Gnasher]

TOP TIP>>>>

Get a hand full of maggots, put in a bait box, add water until they are just covered. Leave for 30 mins and you will have floating maggots that are still alive and wriggle like mad. Present either one or two on a small hook and they will float the hook and you have the best bait available to use in conjunction with your fly gear for all the fresh water fish. It would also get the spooky mullet off the top aswel.

[Gnasher]

no probs paul, wait till the warmer weather comes, and il take u out

[Paul D]

Like the maggot tip Dan. I know exactly where I shall be trying that in the summer ( having witnessed someone pulling out one mullet after another on "tube flies" ).

 

[Swainiac]

Top tips Dan, I'd love a crack at carp or Rudd on fly gear, I bet they both go like trains!!! Can you use the floating maggot on a fly set up?? Are they hardy enough on the hook during the backcast??

 

Gordon, I've remembered the name of that large black lure, Ace of Spades, I used them to good effect on lakes in Ireland, they immitate a small fish.

 

Despite all the new Pike flies we used on Friday, last, we didnt get a sniff!!!!!! With the storm forecast for today and tomorrow, I expect the River to be a tad higher and maybe a bit more coloured this weekend.

 

Tight lines.......Rich

 

PS. All these great tips should really go into the appropriate section of the forum, Ive never heard of that method of making maggots float, I used to use a small hyperdermic for bloodworms and maggots, when I was a boy before the war......Rodders!!!!!

[Gnasher]

Rich, they are hardy as anything and will last a million back casts, will last for ages and wriggle like mad and even one will easily float a small hook. Double maggot will float a bigger hook. Using the needle is ok for worms, but they burst the maggot and make them fish very poor. If im there on Sun il bring some maggots up and show u how to make floaters.

[DommyBoy]

Re floating maggots. if you scold them with Boiling hot water they will also float. They will be dead but they float. Defo take Dan's advice about putting backing on the reel, those carp go some and when you hook a mid-double figure fish on a flimsy fly rod, the fun really begins.

 

 

Dom

 

 

[Gnasher]

Dom u numpty....scold them and they sink

[DommyBoy]

Hmmm....i always was a noddy when it came to match fishing. Well, i know if you do something, they float (except covering them with water).

Ill stick to my sea and carp fishing then i spose.